The President of Liberia, H.E Joseph N. Boakai, Sr., announced today the formation of a multi-agency investigative committee to probe issues surrounding the exportation of unprocessed natural rubber, which has been the subject of controversy.
The Committee is composed of Agriculture Minister Alexander Nuetah as Chairman, along with Commerce and Industry Minister Amin Modad, Justice Minister N. Oswald Tweh, National Investment Commission Chairman Jeff Blibo, and Senior Economic Advisor Sahr Johnny as members.
The President noted that he attaches utmost urgency to this process and asked the committee to provide a detailed report upon the completion of the investigation.
The issue of exporting unprocessed natural rubber has been a source of disagreement among stakeholders in the rubber industry for some time now. In November 2023, the President George M. Weah government issued Executive Order #124, which imposed a moratorium on the export of unprocessed natural rubber from Liberia.
The moratorium covered various forms of unprocessed natural rubber, including natural latex, coagulum, cup lump, tree lace, bark scrap, ground scrap, and concentrated latex or dry rubber produced from rubber trees.
The Executive Order directed the ministries of Commerce and Industry, Finance and Development Planning and other government agencies to stop issuing export permits for unprocessed natural rubber.